ECHO's Environmental Approach

ECHO recognizes the pressing need for environmental sustainability within the cultural sector and beyond. As the umbrella organization for concert halls, we understand our responsibility to lead and inspire our audiences and communities. We believe that by taking a proactive stance, we can encourage wider awareness and inspire collective action.

In this spirit, ECHO is part of a larger alliance of 16 European cultural networks committed to comply with the “SHIFT eco-guidelines” and to develop the related eco-certification, together with Creative Carbon Scotland and audited by Green Leisure Group.

Our approach is founded on two main pillars. First, we are committed to implementing sustainable practices within our own operations, driven by a comprehensive policy, an action plan, and well-defined targets. Second, we are dedicated to supporting our members through tailored initiatives. This involves the formation of a specialized group and the integration of sustainability discussions throughout our organization.

Through these strategic steps, we are actively working towards minimizing our environmental footprint and leveraging our influence to guide our members on their own sustainable journeys. We remain steadfast in our commitment to fostering a more environmentally responsible future for our sector.

 

Governance

  1. Overall responsibility for the implementation of this policy lies with ECHO’s network manager and President, together with the executive board. 
  2. The policy will be assessed annually on by the network manager and the Green Team, who will report significant findings and an opinion on whether any amendments are needed to the Representative Board. Amendments will be made when necessary.  
  3. To ensure that ECHO is meeting the aims and the spirit of this policy, the network manager in consultation with the President will: 

3.1 Discuss and review how well ECHO is implementing this policy and adjust our practices and action plan where necessary.  

3.2 Assess any significant new or revised ECHO policies and procedures regarding their environmental impact.

3.3 Integrate environmental sustainability into ECHO’s action plans and strategies 

across its operations and in collaboration with the different departments. 

3.4 Ensure ECHO’s employment practices and procedures are consistent with the aims of this policy.

4. All staff and Representative Board members have a responsibility to ensure that their own actions are consistent with the spirit as well as the contents of this policy. For maximum effectiveness, this policy must be made understandable to, and embraced by staff, suppliers, partners and trustees.

 

ECHO’s Environmental Policy

 

General

  1. ECHO's practices and activities are aligned with the SHIFT Eco-Guidelines for Networks.
  2. ECHO strives to be eco-certified through the SHIFT Eco-Certification scheme.
  3. Since scientific and operational developments in the field of environmental sustainability are expected to continue advancing at a rapid pace, ECHO strives to remain well-informed concerning new practices and measures that can be taken to further strengthen the organisation’s environmental sustainability. 
  4. ECHO facilitates continuous peer-learning and exchange among its members concerning how ecology, circularity, regeneration, climate action etc., relate to higher arts education by building a platform and community around it and featuring the topic in its main events. 

 

Travel

  1. ECHO aims to minimise the environmental impact of its business travels, in particular CO2 emissions, while maximizing the professional impact and value of any travel undertaken. This includes strategically planning its activities in such a way as to minimise the reliance on carbon-intensive modes of travel, such as flights, as much as possible.
  2. Measuring impact is a crucial step in implementing change. In line with this goal, ECHO accounts for all travels for which it bears financial responsibility, as well as those funded by third parties but undertaken by ECHO representatives, in a yearly carbon footprint calculation. 
  3. ECHO develops effective strategies to reduce its total carbon emissions resulting from travel and/or the emission per kilometre. These strategies are grounded on a yearly baseline comparison of the annual emissions with those calculated for the baseline year 2023. 
  4. All trips for which ECHO bears financial responsibility, as well as those funded by third parties but undertaken by ECHO representatives, should follow ECHO’s Green Travel Guidelines.
  5. Sustainable travel modes can sometimes be more expensive and take longer than their carbon intensive alternatives. ECHO will organise its budget to support sustainable travel as much as possible, even if the cost is higher. ECHO will also allow employees to declare travel time as work time, to facilitate sustainable choices. 
  6. ECHO offers its employees the flexibility to work remotely part of the time, on a voluntary basis. This enables footprint reduction related to commuting, and allows employees to combine international trips more easily, thereby reducing the overall international travel footprint. 
  7. Collaborative Advocacy: ECHO will actively engage in collaborative efforts with partners and/or peers in our sector to advocate for lower carbon emissions and accessible transport solutions, fostering collective action towards sustainable and inclusive transportation for all.

 

ECHO’s Green Travel Guidelines

  1. For every business travel that is planned between different cities, consider whether an online alternative might be equally sufficient to achieve the foreseen aim of the trip. For each travel the proper justification is needed, ask yourself: ‘Is this travel really needed? What is the added value of the travel to ECHO’s activities?’ In case of doubt, discuss your case with the Network Manager.
  2. In case a trip is organised by a third party our travel policy must be shared with them in advance. The invitation normally will only be accepted if it is in accordance with the ECHO travel policy. If this is not the case, employees will need to have approval by their manager.
  3. If travel is considered to be of added value: plan travel in such a way that you minimise the reliance on carbon-intensive modes of travel, such as flights. You can do this in the following ways:
    • Consider combining multiple trips to a similar region into one longer trip. This will reduce the total distance that you will need to travel, and often you will be able to find public transport options (train, bus) to take you to your destinations.
    • Travel by train as much as possible, and whenever the alternative to flying is shorter than 5 hours.
    • If there is no feasible connection by train, you can look into other transportation modes, including travel by plane.
    • If you travel by plane, choose direct flights over stop-over flights.
  4.  For overnight stays: choose accommodations that are eco-labeled. In cases where eco-labeled options are not available, please document your reasons for selecting alternative accommodation.
  5. During your stay in a different city: ECHO encourages employees to opt for public transportation or other sustainable transportation modes (such as walking, biking or shared electric vehicles), whenever possible.
  6. While acknowledging this is a personal choice, ECHO encourages employees to choose sustainable food options and providers while travelling. This particularly applies when staff members organise business lunches, dinners, or other meals.

Events

  1. ECHO aims to minimize the carbon footprint of its events, and gradually work towards fully circular events, by integrating environmental sustainability measures. In doing so, ECHO will take into account the specific local conditions at each venue, and other key principles that may influence the event arrangements. These include inclusivity, accessibility, geographical representation and spread (of members and hosts), and availability of host institutions.
  2. ECHO will incorporate climate mitigation principles for raising awareness in event communications, programming, production and logistics, in line with chapter 4 of the SHIFT Eco-Guidelines for networks. Environmental sustainability processes will be part of the event organizing before, during and after its events. This includes the inclusion of a sustainability clause in contracts and agreements with event hosts.
  3. ECHO acknowledges that due to constantly changing locations of its event, which are often in different countries, the road towards circularity will not be a linear process. However, ECHO will systematically integrate sustainability measures in each of its events, in order to improve its practices overall. Additionally, through collaborative engagement with its third-party host institutions (mostly ECHO members) and integrating sustainability planning and reflections to the hosting protocols, ECHO will promote a culture of sustainable and circular production across its network.

 

Procurement

  1. ECHO actively chooses environmentally responsible suppliers and providers who uphold an environmental policy and offer sustainable products and services, ensuring a commitment to eco-friendly practices throughout its operations. This means that, when available, ECHO will choose suppliers/providers and products that are eco-labelled. Additionally, ECHO will prioritise options that are local and/or circular and/or rely on renewable energy. For IT and utilities ECHO will prioritise options with energy label A.
  2. ECHO will communicate its procurement policy to its members, its potential partners or sponsors, and its (potential) regular suppliers and providers.
  3. If the decision-making process on procurement is beyond the organization's control, ECHO will proactively advocate to influence and inspire sustainable change among the decision makers involved.

Office 

ECHO is currently hosted as a permanent guest by one of its members, BOZAR, in Brussels. Therefore, ECHO identifies and acts upon the areas where the implementation of sustainable practices falls under its scope.

  1. ECHO aims to run its office operations in an environmentally responsible manner, optimizing resource utilization, minimizing waste generation, and actively contributing to a sustainable environment.;
    • Whenever possible, ECHO will follow the principle of the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) across its operations
    • ECHO avoids single-use plastic products
    • ECHO reduces the consumption of (raw) materials, such as printed documents. ECHO will actively look for more sustainable alternatives, which in many cases might mean prioritising the use of digital solutions.
    • ECHO commits to minimise its energy consumption wherever possible.
  2. ECHO encourages all employees to make sustainable choices both within the office and when working remotely from home.

 

Communications

  1. ECHO advocates for and raises awareness on environmental sustainability among its stakeholders, members and wider community through its communication channels.
  2. Where possible, ECHO implements measures to make its communications practices less carbon intensive. This includes minimizing reliance on printed materials and using less carbon intensive communication options, which in many cases might be digital. Any action following this should also align to ECHO’s EDI efforts, thereby contributing to communications practices that are sustainable and accessible for all.  

 

Finance

  1. ECHO is committed to conducting its financial operations in the most ecologically responsible manner possible, adhering to responsible practices, and minimizing environmental impact.
  2. ECHO will advocate for environmentally responsible funding among its members and stakeholders.
  3. ECHO will raise awareness about environmentally responsible funding and financial partnerships.